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Never, ever tell a lie to a TC
Page 31
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A married couple have been found unfit by the TC after tacho fiddling and a connection with some "family friends" leads to revocation.
A NORTHUMBRIAN couple have been declared unfit to hold an 0-licence and have had their licence revoked after tachograph checks revealed more than 3,000km unrecorded travel in a year. One of the partners was also accused of being a director of a "sham" operation to run vehicles on behalf of the discredited William Martin Oliver & Sons. which has been banned from holding an 0-licence for an indefinite period.
Waited to decide North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Tom Macartney had reserved his decision after hearing the evidence against Haltwistle haulier Stephen Armstrong and his wife and partner Sandra (CM 28 April). He decided to revoke their licence and disqualify the Armstrongs, who traded as S&SArmstrongsfrom holding or obtaining an 0-licence for 12 months.
Stephen Armstrong has close connections to William Martin Oliver & Sons which had two of its directors jailed in March for conspiracy to falSify tachograph charts (CM 24 March).
The TC was told that the couple kept their vehicle at Oliver's premises rather than the nominated operating centre; an offence in itself. They took on work for William Martin Oliver and maintenance was contracted out to that firm.
Evidence was given by Stephen Armstrong that William and Stuart Oliver were close friends of his family. About four years ago he lost his driving licence, having attracted too many penalty points. He returned to Olivers, initially working in the warehouse before going into the traffic office having employed a driver to drive his own vehicle.
He was approached by Katharine Oliver to become a co-director of Revilo Logistics, which had sought an 0-licence to keep the Oliver trucks running. Armstrong told the TC he had been unaware that Revilo had been called to a public inquiry and subsequently had a heated argument with Katharine Oliver about not being told about that inquiry. She asked him to stand down as a director.
Concluding that the partners were unfit to hold an 0-licence. the TC said he found the appointment of Stephen Armstrong as codirector of Revilo Logistics was a sham. Revilo Logistics was simply a device to conceal a phoenix application for the Oliver partnersh, and Stephen Armstrong was simply a puppe However, as a co-director he had to accej the responsibilities of a director proposing t operate almost 100 vehicles across the count' while holding down a full-time job.
He found that Stephen Armstrong ha had no intention of carrying out his functio responsibly and would have exercised littl control or taken little responsibility for th work within the Revilo Logistics operation. H could place little trust in Stephen Armstrong i view of such a finding.
The missing tachograph charts and th missing mileage were a particular concert Macartney added. The continued use of a: unauthorised operating centre for some year was a deliberate act.
Lack of management did not correct!: describe a failure to identify missing mileagi and missing tachograph charts for a one-vehiel4 operation. Neither did it excuse a driver defec reporting system despite that remained deepl: flawed, despite promises given at a previou: public inquiry.A large number of defect report were missing.
Lied to a TC Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Stepher Armstrong had lied to a Traffic Commissionei at public inquiry.
The TC added that Sandra Armstrong hac attended the public inquiry and had not given evidence. But she had not dissented from any ol the statements put forward by her husband. •